Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/90145
COMMUNITY CONSULTANT So What Do We Really Have To Be Thankful For? BY FRANK ROLFE Thanksgiving is always a good time of intro- spection. The year is slipping away. Christmas is right around the corner, and so are New Year's resolutions. So the big questionmust be, as we cut up the turkey, what do we really have to be thankful for in the manufactured home community business? The answer is a whole lot. Unbelievable Demand One effect of the declining American econ- omy has been the rise of households that don't make much money. Around 50% of all U.S. households nowmake $30,000 per year or less, with 30% making $20,000 or less. This should come as no surprise to those who read the recent article in which 50% of Americans pay little or no tax. So if you earn $30,000 a year or less, what are your housing op- tions? Basically, a manu- factured home, or a low-quality apartment. That's why our phone rings off the hook with people desperately looking for manufactured homes for sale or rent. Not the ones that are sitting on dealers' lots across Amer- ica – those $40,000 sin- gles and $60,000 doubles. But the ones that we com- munity owners have for $1,000 to $20,000. The ones that are $495 per month or so, in- cluding lot rent.Our communities get 30 to 100 calls per week when we run a simple classified ad. Ask your friends in other industries how their demand is. Ask a car dealer. Ask the tie salesman at Neiman's. Then offer them plenty of Kleenex as they start to cry. No Killer Governmental Regulations We are blessed with an industry that is so quiet right now that people can fritter away time with foolish notions like re-naming the business "land-lease". Do you think oil companies, in- surance companies, healthcare providers and the like can say the same? How about airlines and trucking companies? Sure, we all gotmiffed at the SAFE Act. But what the heck?We have one of the easiest, smoothest business models in the U.S. The Chance To Really Do Good My last article gave you a taste of what hap- So the big question must be, aswe cut up the turkey, what do we really have to be thankful for in the manufactured home community business? The answer is a whole lot. pens when you ask your residents for testimo- nials. Do you think that jewelry stores can say the same? Can you imagine a letter from a jew- elry customer saying "you have changed my family's life for the bet- ter"? Boy, those must have been some ear- rings! I don't think that most community own- ers realize how impor- tant they are to their residents.All we hear is from the guy in lot 17 that complains about the rent being too high and the water pressure too low. Believe me, he's in the minority. We are currently col- lecting 100 testimoni- als, which we are going to compile into a book. You won't believe what people are writing. Plentiful Lending Because manufactured home communities have historically had the lowest default rate of any type of commercial real estate, we still have ample banking available. And conduit, too. How many people in other industries can say that right now? Go ask your friends in the land development business. Or that friend who builds custom homes. Forgot his number? Just call Taco Bell, because he probably works there NOVEMBER 2012 28 THE JOURNAL now. A Nice Group of Peers Community owners tend to be loners.Many own just one property, and don't socialize much. But I think we'll all agree that commu- nity owners tend to be pretty nice people. I can't say that Will Rogers would have said, "I never met a community owner I didn't like", but they didn't have communities in the 1930's when Will was around. With minor excep- tions, you can call just about anyone in the in- dustry and get a pleasant reception and an understanding demeanor. Just ask folks in the retail industry how their peers behave.OrNet- flix. Or software companies. Conclusion We have a whole lot to be thankful for this year at Thanksgiving time. We are blessed to be in one of the best niches to handle all the awful economic news out there. We have a great business model, and a great product to sell. So let's heap on the mashed potatoes, gravy and dressing, and toast to all those other folks who can't share in our joy this year. And a special thanks to JimVisser, Publisher of the Journal, who has put up with another year of my unique articles. Here's to you, Jim. Can you pass the cranberries? T J Frank Rolfe has been a manufactured home com- munity owner for almost two decades, and currently ranks as part of the 28th largest community owner in the United States, with almost 6,000 lots in 17 states in the Great Plains and Midwest. His books and courses on community acquisitions and man- agement are the top-selling ones in the industry. To learn more about Frank's views on the manufac- tured home community industry visit www.Mobile- HomeUniversity.com.